A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar
The stability of floating ice shelves in the Antarctic is of great concern as their current thinning and future collapse will release mass from grounded ice sheets into the ocean, contributing to sea level rise. The study of sub-ice shelf environments is essential for understanding ice-ocean interac...
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ftunivwaterloo:oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/14372 2023-05-15T13:31:55+02:00 A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar Wray, Peter 2019-01-10 http://hdl.handle.net/10012/14372 en eng University of Waterloo http://hdl.handle.net/10012/14372 Glaciology Geophysics Ground Penetrating Radar ice shelf basal channel Master Thesis 2019 ftunivwaterloo 2022-06-18T23:02:15Z The stability of floating ice shelves in the Antarctic is of great concern as their current thinning and future collapse will release mass from grounded ice sheets into the ocean, contributing to sea level rise. The study of sub-ice shelf environments is essential for understanding ice-ocean interactions, where warming ocean temperatures have already begun to reduce the mass of Antarctic ice shelves through enhanced melt. Obtaining direct measurements of the sub-ice shelf cavity remains challenging. This thesis demonstrates that ground-based and airborne Ice Penetrating Radar (IPR) can deliver high resolution geospatial data of sub-ice shelf features, which can be used to observe: ice draft and surface morphology, vertical melt rates, and hydrostatic balance of the ice shelf. In November 2016 and January/February 2017, IPR surveys were completed over the Nansen Ice Shelf in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. Surveys examined an ocean-sourced basal channel incised into the bottom of the ice shelf. Results reveal a 6 - 10 km wide, 90 m high basal channel, with 20 m high sub-channels. Data from 2011 and 2014 airborne IPR surveys are compared to the November 2016 ground based IPR to calculate a dozen direct measurements of vertical melt rate values within the channel. Melt was focused more on one channel flank, away from the channel center in local apexes. Many of the detected features were not in hydrostatic equilibrium as calculated from surface elevations, indicating the need for more radar determined ice thickness measurements to fully characterize basal channel morphology and monitor future melt. Master Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves University of Waterloo, Canada: Institutional Repository Antarctic Terra Nova Bay The Antarctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Waterloo, Canada: Institutional Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwaterloo |
language |
English |
topic |
Glaciology Geophysics Ground Penetrating Radar ice shelf basal channel |
spellingShingle |
Glaciology Geophysics Ground Penetrating Radar ice shelf basal channel Wray, Peter A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar |
topic_facet |
Glaciology Geophysics Ground Penetrating Radar ice shelf basal channel |
description |
The stability of floating ice shelves in the Antarctic is of great concern as their current thinning and future collapse will release mass from grounded ice sheets into the ocean, contributing to sea level rise. The study of sub-ice shelf environments is essential for understanding ice-ocean interactions, where warming ocean temperatures have already begun to reduce the mass of Antarctic ice shelves through enhanced melt. Obtaining direct measurements of the sub-ice shelf cavity remains challenging. This thesis demonstrates that ground-based and airborne Ice Penetrating Radar (IPR) can deliver high resolution geospatial data of sub-ice shelf features, which can be used to observe: ice draft and surface morphology, vertical melt rates, and hydrostatic balance of the ice shelf. In November 2016 and January/February 2017, IPR surveys were completed over the Nansen Ice Shelf in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica. Surveys examined an ocean-sourced basal channel incised into the bottom of the ice shelf. Results reveal a 6 - 10 km wide, 90 m high basal channel, with 20 m high sub-channels. Data from 2011 and 2014 airborne IPR surveys are compared to the November 2016 ground based IPR to calculate a dozen direct measurements of vertical melt rate values within the channel. Melt was focused more on one channel flank, away from the channel center in local apexes. Many of the detected features were not in hydrostatic equilibrium as calculated from surface elevations, indicating the need for more radar determined ice thickness measurements to fully characterize basal channel morphology and monitor future melt. |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Wray, Peter |
author_facet |
Wray, Peter |
author_sort |
Wray, Peter |
title |
A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar |
title_short |
A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar |
title_full |
A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar |
title_fullStr |
A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Spatial Analysis of the Nansen Ice Shelf Basal Channel, Using Ice Penetrating Radar |
title_sort |
spatial analysis of the nansen ice shelf basal channel, using ice penetrating radar |
publisher |
University of Waterloo |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10012/14372 |
geographic |
Antarctic Terra Nova Bay The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Terra Nova Bay The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Shelf Ice Shelves |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10012/14372 |
_version_ |
1766022392740577280 |